Nick Finnigan
Inna flat area, and onna half-decent bike (and why should someone commuting by bike not have an adequate machine for the job?) of course it is.
When I lived in London (and commuted in to W1), the limiting factor was always congestion. Sure, I could get past the cars, but it meant going slowly and cautiously for much of the way. Add waiting at junctions and lights, and it was indeed a little slower than that. The bike was still faster than the motorbike (let alone the tube) and I'd arrive much fresher at work.
Cycling to work 81Nick Kew I do my 4km commute from Euston to work (EC2A 1PQ) in about 15 minutes (from getting off the train to getting to my desk) on a Brompton. (That includes the unfold...
On a more open flat commute like the A4 from Bath to Bristol, that speed was no effort at all. The bike was no longer faster than the motorbike or even car, being 35 minutes to the motorbike's low 20s or around 30 by car. But still by far the most pleasant. That was onna basic £150 (1980s prices) touring bike.
Even in the hilly urban environment of Sheffield, my experience was that cycling was faster and more pleasant than other means of commuting - though I no longer had a motorbike to compare.
Of course, hills and off-road riding are much slower, and here (Dartmoor), cycling is definitely slower than driving. The six miles I used to commute before switching to working from home became so much fun I would often take longer, more scenic routes when time permitted (which was usually the homeward journey:-).
-- Nick Kew
